Hi I wonder if someone can recommend a supplement to help my Ferritin please? I was previously eating lots of liver pate but have now gone off it and can’t face black pudding. I have a healthy, varied diet and do eat red meat, chicken and fish. I couldn’t eat offal either so am hoping someone can help with a recommended supplement.
Many thanks.
CornishChick
I would be extremely careful about taking an iron supplement.
Your serum iron is 26 (9-30)
Transferrin saturation is 46.2% (16%-45%)
Transferrin is 2.24 (1.80-3.82)
If you take iron tablets then this could raise your serum iron with is already at 81% through range and optimal level is said to be 55-70% (higher end for males).
Your saturation is already over range.
I'm not an iron expert but with the rest of your iron panel as it is then I would be wary of taking iron tablets.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I hoped you’d see my post because I value your opinion. Is there anything else I can do food wise? I ate liver pate three times a week upon your recommendation last time and I have now completely gone off it and can’t stomach it!
Thank you very much.
Your ferritin is just under 19% of the way through the range, and ideally it would be half way through the range i.e. roughly 107.
BUT
I'm in total agreement with SeasideSusie that taking iron supplements may just raise your serum iron and saturation without making much difference to your ferritin, and that is really bad for you. Iron in excess is poisonous.
You might find this thread of interest :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Thank you very much for replying. I really value your knowledge. Can you suggest any other way of raising my ferritin please?
Thank you.
In my previous reply I suggested reading this thread :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
and it contained some links to pages on Stop The Thyroid Madness on the subject of MTHFR mutations as a cause of high iron and low ferritin.
stopthethyroidmadness.com/i...
stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...
stopthethyroidmadness.com/m...
MTHFR mutations are very common - its been suggested that about 50% - 60% of the world's population has some form of mutation that reduces methylation.
When I've come across other people with apparent methylation problems I have suggested supplementing with methylcobalamin and methylfolate, but your B12 and folate are both quite good, so it isn't relevant for you.
Methylation problems may explain your high serum iron and low ferritin and improving methylation may help. My own understanding of this subject is extremely woolly and I don't feel even remotely competent to try and explain it. And besides, I could be barking up the wrong tree entirely. (I have no medical training at all.)
This link may help :
chrismasterjohnphd.com/blog...
If you can improve your methylation, then in theory it should improve your body's ability to move iron into ferritin and back again, as and when required. Methylation issues also affect the body's handling of other metals and minerals not just iron.
If you follow the info in the last link I gave above, and it still doesn't help matters, it may be a case of going back to the drawing board and trying something else.
Thank you for explaining. I read your post but I will read the STTM links later when the children are asleep. They look quite complicated for the likes of me, so I’ll need some P&Q!
Hey, I don’t know much about iron at all but I wanted to get mine up fast because I wanted to get on to NDT or T3 ASAP, so I actually went to London and paid for (put on the credit card!) an iron infusion at The Iron Clinic. It apparently should get my ferritin in to the hundreds and will last a fair while. You could always have a chat with them and send them your results. They were great before I went up. Chatted on phone and via email first
Can I ask how much this cost, please? I am always losing iron really quickly and it would be nice to have a ballpark figure in case I ever need it.
Are you lying down, humanbean? £800. I have no money but I am desperate. So I did it.
Yes, I had heard it was expensive. I had very poor levels of iron after having a long-term GI bleed a few years ago. I was basically left to rot by the doctors, once they found and fixed the cause of the bleeding. That was when I accidentally found out that I didn't actually need a prescription for prescription-strength iron supplements, I could just get them from a pharmacy. And I could test my own iron privately without begging for help from a doctor. It took me nearly two years to get my ferritin close to optimal, although my serum iron always stays low and has never been optimal. It was this situation that made me learn what I could about interpreting iron results. I know my GP was quite happy with my ferritin at about 20. It was only when I bought a copy of my medical records from my GP that I discovered that my serum iron was discovered to be below range several years before the bleeding was stopped. Nobody ever told me.
Very sorry to hear this happened to you humanbean. The clinic basically gives you a years worth or iron in one go. I was in and out in an hour and I barely noticed the procedure. They said it’ll take two weeks to notice a difference. Whether I notice or not doesn’t matter anyway. I did it to ensure I’m optimal. You could always write to them and see what they say. Honestly. Life’s just too short. Stick it on a card and try I say lol
I should add, my ferritin was at 22 when I had it done. But they were good and said these reference ranges are dreadful, which we know all too well huh!
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